Experiential Theories

Identify one of the experiential theories or one of the cognitive behavioral theories such as (BehaviorTherapy) from the founders Ivan Pavlov, B. F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, Joseph Wolpe, and Donald Meichenbaum and briefly explain, how it applies to mental health counseling.

Describe one benefit and one deficit in this theory in the practice of mental health counseling.

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For the purpose of this assignment, I will be ssing B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory. Skinner proposed the concept that behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated while behavior which is not tends to stop. "Skinner believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mental events" (McLeod, 2007, para 3). This is taking work from both Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson and Edward Thorndike but putting Skinner's own twist on it to say that yes, we have a mind as human beings but rather than being concerned with the "whys" of behavior, looking at the "whats", in terms of the behaviors presenting, is much more useful. While other early theorists such as Feud and Jung were mainly concerned with psychotherapy and the client's past to determine why behavior was occurring, Skinner sought to find a more immediate fix for the ...

Solution Summary

A discussion regarding experiential/cognitive behavioral theories by B.F. Skinner and how it relates to mental health counseling. Also, a discussion regarding the benefits and deficits related to the theory. 536 words, 2 references.